Robin Miller's Notes on Indy

[KC]

The often sarcastic and usually caustic Robin Miller of the Indianapolis Star had some interesting observations on the 2000 Indy 500.
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• There were some prerace concerns, by other Championship Auto Racing Teams programs, that if Juan Montoya or Jimmy Vasser were leading late in the race, a so-called "NASCAR yellow" for debris might be thrown to bunch up the pack. But the Indy Racing League officials resorted to no such homecourt whistle.

"I think we were treated extremely fair the whole time," said Rob Hill, crew chief for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.

• Buddy Lazier had a splendid run, storming from 16th to second in the Delta Faucet Dallara/Aurora and getting great horsepower from Speedway Motors, so it was sad to see him complaining afterward about getting balked in traffic by fellow IRL drivers and implying they made it easy for Montoya.

Trust me, Montoya ran away in traffic because he's el jefe (that's Spanish for the boss), not because people pulled over.

• Lyn St. James turned into Sarah Fisher's right rear tire, not her right front as St. James claimed, following their 200 mph battle going into turn one. For the record, the 53-year-old has crashed out of her last four 500s.

• In other Mays, Airton Dare would have likely won Rookie of the Year. This 22-year-old Brazilian had a great run at Las Vegas and again here, moving from 21st to fourth before blowing an engine.

• Vasser led five laps and was in second before pulling in late for a splash of fuel, but he was never as competitive as expected. The mono-shock system on his G-Force may have been to blame because it didn't appear the team ever got a handle on the handling.

• The father of the Indy winner said the president of Colombia went on national television Sunday night to praise Juan's latest accomplishment.

"We have a lot of problems in our country and for the last two years Juan has been about the only happy news," said Pablo Montoya.

• Scott Sharp, who started fifth and finished 10th, whined after the race that Montoya should have won because Ganassi's team had the most money. Well, gosh, besides the fact Kelley Racing is one of the IRL's best-funded teams and provides Sharp with amenities like qualifying engines, isn't the IRL special because it offers an "even playing field?" I'm confused.

• Montoya's crew lost in last Thursday's pit stop contest, but it was no contest in the race -- they were superb every time and a big part of the win.

• The drivers were told that if they blocked anybody, in the turns or on the straightaways, they would be black-flagged. Wonder how officials missed Eliseo Salazar turning left and nearly chopping off Lazier's nose on the lap 178 restart right in front of the start/finish line.

• It says right here that most of the media covering motorsports on a regular basis were appalled to hear Al Unser Jr. all but blame Stefan Johansson and ex-CART chief steward Wally Dallenbach for the death of Jeff Krosnoff in 1996 at Toronto. It's also pathetic to hear Unser rail on about CART, like his career there didn't exist or that he didn't enjoy his unfair advantage at Indy in 1994 with team owner Roger Penske. A lot of us have pulled for Unser (in print) during his troubled life the past couple of years, but he's making it real tough.

• G-Force claimed three of the top four spots, but Dallara placed five cars in the top 10, and Lazier and Stan Wattles both ran 218 mph laps in theirs.

• Allowing Greg Ray's damaged car to be repaired (supposedly) and sending him back out some 70 laps later was dangerous and stupid.

• Asked to comment on Unser's criticism of his driving and a prediction he'd eat concrete because he didn't have the proper respect for Indianapolis, Montoya replied: "Yeah, it really bit me. I'm surprised I won."
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I continue to find strange that so many of the drivers that whined about TCGR being the best funded or the best sponsored team are the same ones that whined because the CART teams didn't come to Indy and race with them. Did they think that Chip Ganassi would come and play with them or come to win? Even Vasser, who had to pit for fuel with less than five laps to go nearly finished on the podium.

Montoya definitely had the best and most prolific car in the field and was the obvious best driver on the circuit losing very little time in dispatching backmarkers as did some of the others. I do think that Salazar did play a bit unfair with Lazier by blocking him late in the race. I guess that the IRL oficials are scared Foyt might assault their lap tops computers. But, no one else had even near the measure of Montoya who could seemingly turn it on at will.

I have the utmost respect for Greg Ray and his ability but reducing downforce to the point of danger was pretty stupid to me. You first have to be able to finish the car and his car was obviously so loose it was undriveable. The Indy 500 is way too long for anyone to drive with a car skating all over the track.

I almost hate to say this but it may be time for Al Unser Jr. to retire. I used to admire him for his ability to win when there were others who seemed faster even though he drove for the most dominant team in pre-TCGR history. His remarks of late smack of a poor loser who cannot see that his lifestyle, decrease in ability, and the raising of the performance bar are diminishing his past efforts. His comments and blamestorming for the Krosnoff incident are particularly disgusting to me. There is no way I'd ever believe that a class driver like Stephan Johansson would have deliberately turned into Krosnoff at Vancouver. Not with the speeds they were running and the risks involved at a street course. There is also no way for CART officials to predict that Krosnoff would have been involved in a tire hopping incident that would have sent him into the fence killing him and a track marshall. I also think he forgets that he won the Indy 500 while racing in IndyCar and CART. He didn't seem to mind who he raced for when he was winning. Its time to give it up Al.

[Liz]

A well written and thoughtful piece - by both KC and Robin!

I agree that it is time Little Al hung them up; it would be a shame for people to remember only the last few years of his career when he became a stumbling crybaby who could not win for losing, and forget all the good years he had and what he did to promote the sport of racing. Unfortunately most people only remember "what you have done lately" and if he doesn't shut up and make a graceful exit - and perhaps devote his time to being a positive voice for the sport in any aspect of his choice, he's going to ruin his legacy. And I agree that using a tragic death as a weapon against another pilote is reaching a brand new low. I hope the outcry has been loud enough so it does not happen again.

Buddy Lazier and his crying about how people must move over for Montoya or else he couldn't pass them ... sounds like Cranky Mika and his Backmarkers whine. No, people get out of the way of the Red Cars because they do not want tire tracks on their helmets. That and the fact that with no blocking allowed, Montoya must have found it a Sunday drive to get by those guys compared to what he usually hsa to face.

Finally, I would like to observe that it is obviously those engines letting JPM down this year. Can't he race with the IRL engine instead?